NBA Rundown: The Tyson Chandler effect on the Lakers

The state of play from the NBA!

Hey, remember when every single one of us made judgments after the first two weeks of the season? Yeah, forget all of that.

We’ve seen some teams go through a sudden rise, and some go through the opposite; perhaps no more so than the Los Angeles Lakers, who go through those sorts of drastic ebbs and flows within each game.

Lately, however, they’ve looked better. They’ve look a lot better. Yes, it’s not down to one thing, but there’s one person who’s made a big impact, and you obviously know who I’m talking about.

It’s time for another NBA Rundown, so let’s get after it.

THE LAKERS ARE 4-0 SINCE signing Tyson Chandler, and, in this case, correlation does mean causation.

When Chandler signed, we knew two things: LeBron James was happy with it — he personally reached out to interim Phoenix Suns general manager, James Jones, to make him available — and the centre would have some sort of positive impact.

He’s 36, but didn’t put much stress on his body over the past few years, and has always been among the most effective defensive centres in the NBA. He was just too good over his career not to lift his hometown team.

At the time of his signing, the Lakers were already showing very small signs of coming together as a group, but it seems as though the big-man solidified that. Yes, the Lakers’ four-game win streak has featured wins against a dishevelled Minnesota Timberwolves team and the lowly Atlanta Hawks, but a victory against these Sacramento Kings is no joke, while the Portland Trail Blazers have been among the West’s best.

Chandler’s effect has primarily been on the defensive end, as expected, and it’s clearly leading to success.

Let’s dive into the numbers.

Before signing Chandler (4-6)

Defensive Rating: 111.5.

Defensive Rebound Percentage: 70.1 percent.

Opponent points in the paint: 59 per game.

Opponent’s Effective Field Goal Percentage: 53.2 percent.

After signing Chandler (4-0)

Defensive rating: 101.2.

Defensive rebound %: 72.5.

Opponent points in the paint: 40.5 per game.

Opponent’s Effective Field Goal Percentage: 48.9 percent.

When we look at the traditional statistics, we see Chandler is averaging 3.3 points, 7.8 rebounds, and 1.0 block a game, over his four outings with the Lakers. While those are impressive in his 22 minutes per game, diving deeper into the advanced numbers is how we can truly decipher the impact he has, particularly on the defensive end.

We see the pace has slowed down a bit, especially while he’s on the floor, but that’s correlating with a better team defence, which is leading to success.

Again, it’s still early, and there are countless kinks to iron out for these Lakers, but the one thing we know for sure is that the signing of Chandler has been a resounding success, thus far.

TO ME, THIS DRAYMOND — KD FEUD PROVED ONE THING: Stephen Curry is the MVP.

Seriously, Curry is absent from the team for a second and two of its best players can’t behave.

This weird back-and-forth between Draymond Green and Kevin Durant has all the looks of a childish argument, where the two kids are just waiting for the babysitter to leave the room.

In all seriousness, though, the fact that it’s spilling onto the court — emotionally, and from a basketball perspective — is further proof of Curry’s value. The Warriors aren’t just missing their two-time MVP’s range, but his ability to create for himself and others is lacking on a team that looks to be showing a lack of energy on the offensive end.

Andre Iguodala is doing his best to keep the ball and player movement in motion, but it’s not the same without Curry’s range, or his ability to bail out the offence with a high pick-and-roll.

We know Durant is the best scorer of his generation, and Green is the Swiss Army knife of his generation, and Klay Thompson is the spot-up shooter of his generation, but Curry is the undoubted leader of the best team of this generation, and this week is proof.

DO WE ALL REMEMBER WHEN Pascal Siakam was the random rookie, starting for the Toronto Raptors for some reason?

Well, that was two years ago. Now, he’s one of the most efficient players in the NBA, and just won the Eastern Conference’s Player of the Week.

The Cameroonian’s growth from bit-time, potential-laden wing to full-blown, two-way borderline star has been incredible, and he’s making a huge impact for one of the best teams in the league. Defensively, his size and athleticism lends him to being a pest on that end of the floor, but it’s his offensive game that’s improved immensely.

Whether it’s the three-point shot he’s been hitting with more consistency, or the spin move he pulls off over and over again — what we’ll now call ‘The Siakam’: backing down your guy in the midpost before spinning off him — Siakam has really forged out a role for himself in the NBA, and he’s producing at an incredibly high level.

Good on him.

WE ALL KNOW GIANNIS ANTETKOUNMPO IS AN ACTUAL MONSTER, but let’s talk about how well his supporting cast has been playing.

To get it out of the way, Antetokounmpo is averaging 25.8 points, 12.7 rebounds, and 5.6 assists per game. He’s unstoppable on the offensive end, and has the size, length, mobility, and athleticism to guard all five positions. He’s not real.

Now, the Milwaukee Bucks are 10-4, in large part — most part — to the play of the Greek unicorn, but the likes of Malcolm Brogdon and Eric Bledsoe have looked really impressive, while Brook Lopez sure has carved out the perfect role on this team.

We’re not including Khris Middleton in this group, because he’s a star alongside Antetokounmpo, so we can first focus on the backcourt duo of Brogdon and Bledsoe. Brogdon is shooting the ball at a career-high clip — making him an ideal guard next to Antetokounmpo — and has taken some big strides on the defensive end.

Bledsoe, on the other hand, is being allowed to show off more of his point guard skills under Mike Budenholzer, posting the best assist ratio of his career (29.5) and the worst turnover ratio (9.5, which is a good thing).

Pair that with Lopez, who suddenly turned into a seven-foot Stephen Curry — he’s averaging more three-pointers made per game than at any time in his career, and shooting it at the best percentage of his career — and you have a team that may be well rounded enough to go far in the East.

LINE OF THE WEEK wasn’t difficult, because LeBron James’ 44 points, 10 rebounds, and 9 assists were special in a lot of ways.

It was an efficient performance, with James shooting 13-of-19 from the field, including 5-of-6 from downtown, but the thing people will remember most is the fact that the new Laker passed Wilt.

With a free throw in the fourth quarter of the Lakers’ game against the Portland Trail Blazers, James passed Wilt Chamberlain for fifth on the NBA’s All-Time scoring list, with his 44 points the best individual scoring performance from a Laker since Kobe Bryant dropped 60 points in his final game.

“People had never seen someone like that in that era,” James said of Chamberlain, after the performance. “He was dominant in all walks of life, not just basketball.”

With LeBron firing and the Lakers winning the last four, they're now as short as $21 for the NBA Championship.